AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $52.70 and last traded at $48.39, with a volume of 11071940 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $48.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.80.

AXT Stock Down 1.0%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.01 and a 200 day moving average of $15.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of -100.81 and a beta of 1.74.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). AXT had a negative return on equity of 10.59% and a negative net margin of 24.07%.The business had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.24 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jesse Chen sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total value of $706,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 123,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,825,833.56. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.53, for a total value of $770,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 112,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,344,026.32. The trade was a 15.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXTI. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong purchased a new stake in AXT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AXT by 1,314.6% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,790,000 after purchasing an additional 840,650 shares during the period. Maytree Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AXT in the 4th quarter valued at $11,156,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in AXT by 2,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,398,000 after buying an additional 551,876 shares in the last quarter. 49.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXT Company Profile

AXT, Inc (NASDAQ: AXTI) is a global supplier of compound and single-element semiconductor substrates, offering a range of materials critical for high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Fremont, California, AXT specializes in the development, manufacture and distribution of wafers composed of gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), gallium nitride (GaN) and other compound semiconductor materials. These substrates serve as the foundational platforms for devices used in data communications, wireless infrastructure, advanced computing, consumer electronics and photovoltaic applications.

AXT’s product portfolio encompasses a variety of wafer sizes, dopant concentrations and crystal orientations, tailored to meet the precise specifications of its customers.